Alaska Alaska First Media

[umfan]

Cliff Dumas Reacquires Alaska Holdings From Bankruptcy Receiver

Cliff Dumas' Alaska First Media is acquiring the nine stations and fourteen translators in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka AK from

radioinsight.com

The guy, Cliff Dumas, is kind of brilliant. Puts his radio holdings into receivership then reacquires them for 20 cents on the dollar for what the loan was. He clearly benefitted from a lack of other interest in the assets, and this is not the best way to do business, but it likely does keep these stations in operation.

 

[ted chittenden]

Two points:

1) The lender decided that it was better to have these radio stations on the air than not; and
2) The lender will probably charge Mr. Dumas a higher interest rate if he wishes to borrow more money from it to either operate these stations or purchase others in the future.

 

[umfan]

Two points:

1) The lender decided that it was better to have these radio stations on the air than not; and
2) The lender will probably charge Mr. Dumas a higher interest rate if he wishes to borrow more money from it to either operate these stations or purchase others in the future.

I don't think the lender will touch him again or lend against radio assets. The lender could care less if the stations remain on the air. They wanted to recover as much of their loan as possible. Dumas just had little to no competition so he got the assets back for pennies on the dollar.

 

[The New Chico]

There is a super fine line between brilliant and foolhardy. In a couple years we will know which one he was. I suspect the reason nobody else bid on them is that nobody else could see a business case in these markets.

 

[KilowattKat]

What a portfolio of stations. He owns all of commercial radio in Southeast Alaska. Absolutely no competition.

 

[ted chittenden]

What a portfolio of stations. He owns all of commercial radio in Southeast Alaska. Absolutely no competition.

Think about local businesses trying to advertise their products and services. Outside of public radio sponsorships (and independent NPR affiliates are available in all of the markets in which Mr. Dumas operates), there will be nowhere else to go for commercial advertisements, meaning that Mr. Dumas can charge just about whatever ad rates he wants. It was this kind of power (though not in radio as that service hadn't come into being yet) that caused the U.S. Congress to pass first the Sherman (1889) and then Clayton (1914) antitrust acts.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

hmm.. people who dont know much abut alaska or the companies talking like they know.

I cant say i have all the answers, but these stations have been paired together for ages. The Burns, aussie citizens who sold them to Dumas et al bought them from Alaska Broadcast Communications,

Most of the places they serve arent even 30,000 people. Theres operational effencies the stations probably share.. traffic/billing. Just liek the public radio stations in SE Alaska have shared services agreements in place between each others.

Theres alot of travel common between these places in SE Alaska, and it would be wise for Juneau busiesses to advertise on other stations and viceversa.

 

[The New Chico]

Yes, he has the whole pie, but is the pie big enough for him to make a go of it? For his sake, I hope so, but having spent time in SE AK I can tell you there is just not much there. Seasonal tourism and the state capital. About 50,000 people total in the three markets, and outside of the lobbyists not a ton of money at all. As someone who is still a believer in local radio, I hope he succeeds, but...

 

[umfan]

hmm.. people who dont know much abut alaska or the companies talking like they know.

I cant say i have all the answers, but these stations have been paired together for ages. The Burns, aussie citizens who sold them to Dumas et al bought them from Alaska Broadcast Communications,

Most of the places they serve arent even 30,000 people. Theres operational effencies the stations probably share.. traffic/billing. Just liek the public radio stations in SE Alaska have shared services agreements in place between each others.

Theres alot of travel common between these places in SE Alaska, and it would be wise for Juneau busiesses to advertise on other stations and viceversa.

I didn't read one thing on here that contradicted what you wrote, so I'm a bit puzzled by some of your comment here.

 

[Cliff dumas]

Hey fellow broadcasters, Cliff Dumas here. I thought I would jump in to supply some actual factual context, since some of the commentary around the Alaska stations is completely inaccurate fuel by incorrect information published by most trade publications, who simply didn't know the complexities or the original actual ownership structure. The few that actual did reach out and talk to me personal had the story correct. Because of my career in radio, I became the headline on the original acquisition. That inaccurate narrative has just evolve and resulted in some trades claiming, "I was repurchasing the stations", when in fact, I did not purchase the stations in the first place.

Furthermore, I was not the signator on the original lender’s loan. The debt and loan was held by Local First Media, which owned the radio station operating assets. I had simply had a 10% interest in that company.

Separately though, as a U.S. citizen, I controlled the FCC licenses, which could not be collateralized in any loan structure, as you may know. Ultimately, this position allowed me to remove the prior CEO after significant financial mismanagement became clear. I then worked in cooperation with the court-appointed receiver to stabilize the operation, keep the stations on the air, and protect the employees, advertisers, and communities involved.

From there, I participated in the receiver-led process and ultimately bid on and acquired the Alaska group, resulting in me becoming the 100% owner of these stations.

So the idea that this was simply a case of “getting the assets back for pennies on the dollar” is not accurate, it was my attempt to save the stations that have served Juneau and Southeast Alaska for close to 90 years. The end result is straightforward: the Alaska stations stayed on the air, the staff had continuity, the communities retained local service, and the group now has clear, accountable ownership moving forward. Livin the dream folks. Always happy to connect, [email protected]

 

[b-turner]

Might I add Cliff will not charge advertisers anything he wants. He will charge a rate that a local merchant can afford for a return in results that encourages repeat business.